A captain questions why he is not suppose to ensure the ELT is functional prior to departure; after ...

Attributes
ACN	867894
Time
Date	201001
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Light	Dusk
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Dash 8 Series Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Parked
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	ELB / ELT
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

Narrative:

I was called by chief pilot and questioned about why I tested the emergency locator transmitter (ELT) in a plane I flew about a week prior. The ELT was found to 'not' test and written up. Maintenance issued an MEL for it. He told me that maintenance does not want us to test the ELT and that pilots are not to do so. I found it rather odd that as a pilot in command (PIC); I am not supposed to insure the ELT is functional. I suggest that we insure ELT's are functional.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Captain questions why he is not suppose to ensure the ELT is functional prior to departure; after an ELT did 'not' test on their DHC-8 aircraft. Maintenance therefore issued an MEL for the ELT. A week later; he was told by his Chief Pilot that Maintenance does not want them to test the ELT.

Narrative: I was called by Chief Pilot and questioned about why I tested the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) in a plane I flew about a week prior. The ELT was found to 'Not' test and written up. Maintenance issued an MEL for it. He told me that Maintenance does not want us to test the ELT and that pilots are not to do so. I found it rather odd that as a Pilot in Command (PIC); I am not supposed to insure the ELT is functional. I suggest that we insure ELT's are functional.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

A captain questions why he is not suppose to ensure the ELT is functional prior to departure; after an ELT did 'not' test on their dhc-8 aircraft. Maintenance therefore issued an MEL for the ELT. A week later; he was told by his chief pilot that maintenance does not want them to test the ELT.